Until a kid has had a toy for at least a couple of months, it’s impossible to know whether it will become a playtime mainstay or end up gathering dust in the corner. And the more money you spend on the toy in question, the bigger the gamble. In many cases, you get what you pay for: Expensive toys, at least in the realm of classics like wooden blocks and LEGOs, are often made of higher-quality materials and have undergone more rigorous testing for both play value and durability. But durability doesn’t really predict what will hold a kid’s interest over time.
So to help you splurge wisely and determine which toys may justify the added expense — according to kids and adults — I spoke to teachers, toy-store owners, and lots of fellow parents about the toys that have earned the title of “worth it” in their eyes. The 15 toys below, ranging in price from $90 to $500, are tried-and-true blockbusters that will delight kids of all ages for years to come. (If nothing below speaks to you, though, check out our gift guides for kids of every age, and for even more ideas, see all of our holiday gift guides.)
The very best play silks
To the uninitiated, this may seem like a silly amount of money to pay for a set of five silk scarves. But I have heard from nearly every child-development expert, preschool teacher, and toddler parent I’ve spoken to that shelling out for Sarah’s Silks play scarves from the get-go can save you money on toys (and dress-up clothing) in the long run. According to Erin Boyle, mom of three and the blogger behind Reading My Tea Leaves, the quality of Sarah’s Silks is top-notch and the variety of ways kids can play with them makes them essential. These bright silks each measure 35 inches square and are just as fun to play with for infants and toddlers as they are for older children. Strategist senior editor Jen Trolio calls them a toy that grows with your kids because you can use them for everything from playing simple games of peekaboo to staging a pretend picnic or creating a quick superhero cape.
The Nugget play couch (and its cousin, the Chunk)
At least a dozen parents, including preschool celebrity Ms. Rachel, have told me the Nugget “play couch” — a set of giant foam pieces with washable fabric covers that kids can use for everything from lounging to building forts — is a wonderful toy-furniture hybrid for kids of all ages. Lots of those same parents have even purchased a second (or third) Nugget as their kids got older to prevent siblings from fighting over it and to give them more pieces to play with. Jisu Kim, founder of the pet-apparel brand Little Beast, says she often gives the Nugget as a gift to friends with young children because of its versatility. “It’s a great investment; you can use it from the infant stage all the way to elementary school,” she says. I am one of five Strategist parents who own the Nugget, and I use it every single day in a multitude of ways while playing with and reading to my almost 2-year-old son. Trolio has two Nuggets that her 6-year-old and 9-year-old daughters are constantly rearranging into new structures. It comes in about 20 colors and prints to match any décor, and the brand’s more recently released Chunk ottoman adds round shapes and even more building possibilities to the mix.
Stapelstein’s ultralight stepping stones that can hold over 300 pounds
I first heard about Stapelstein’s lightweight but sturdy stepping stones two years ago from Milk Teeth co-founders Rebecca Calavan and Catherine Newell-Hanson, and they have since been recommended to me by many more parents. Each of the original stepping stones is about the size of a Frisbee and stacks neatly on top of its fellows. Kids can use the pieces to build a stool, table, or tower for themselves or their dolls and stuffed animals to perch on, or spread them all over the room for a game of “floor is lava.” Each piece also doubles as a drum, a bowl, a sorting container, a spinning chair, or a scoop for mud, water, or sand. (They float, too, if you want to take them into the bath or the pool.) This set includes six, but you can also buy them individually and the brand recently launched both mini and extra-large sizes. I have a set at home, and love them as much for play as for the bright pop of color they bring to my son’s room.
Yoto’s portable podcast, music, and audiobook player …
Whether they’re listening to a nonfiction story about the inventor of the toilet, taking in Yoto’s daily kids’ podcast, or singing along to Elton John or the Beatles, this Wi-Fi-enabled audio player is designed to keep children entertained and curious without adding screen time. Kids as young as 3 can operate the minimalist device, which has just two control knobs, a power button, a slot for story cards, and a pixelated digital display. Parents can manage it via an app on their phones, where they can download content and record themselves or other relatives reading stories or other messages to add to blank cards. When we first wrote about the Yoto Mini in 2022, Vulture critic Kathryn VanArendonk called it one of the few kid-centric things she “would instantly repurchase if one of them got left behind in a hotel room or dropped in a lake or destroyed through some other unforeseeable chaos,” and the same is true two years later: Her kids are still all-in on the Yoto at ages 7 and 10 and are currently listening to the Wings of Fire series and a slew of podcasts that VanArendonk adds to the blank cards.
… And Tonie’s audio player for even littler kids
While the Yoto system uses cards to play music or audiobooks, the Toniebox uses toylike figurines called Tonies, which attach to the player through a magnetic base to automatically start playing a book or a song. I have both a Toniebox and a Yoto player at home, and my almost-2-year-old son is more drawn to the Tonies because they look like action figures. This tracks with what I’ve heard from lots of other parents about the Toniebox being more appealing to younger kids, in part because it has all sorts of licensed characters and related stories to choose from, including Peppa Pig, Spidey, Paddington, Elsa, and Elmo. My son learned to place a Tonie on top of the Toniebox to make it play at around 10 months old, and sometimes he would sit and play with the Tonies by themselves. There are also nonfiction Tonies, for kids who like facts about dinosaurs and ocean animals, and “creative” Tonies you can fill up with downloadable content or your own recordings. And the company recently launched a set of Tonies featuring chapter books geared toward early-elementary-school children.
Top-of-the-line train set
You definitely don’t have to spend $300-plus on a train set for your kid. But if you have the means to, Brio is among the very best you can buy. The quality of the wooden tracks, battery-powered train engines, boats, subway cars, bridges, tunnels, and other accessories is excellent. And the variety of sets available is vast. This one alone includes four kinds of vehicles: a passenger train, a freight train, a harbor boat, and subway cars. It also comes with its own storage box that folds out to become a play mat. As children get older and more capable of making complex track layouts, you can grow your collection with new sets and introduce a train table from Brio or one of a dozen other brands.
Modular balance beam
Kathleen Cann, a preschool teacher and mom, told me her 2-year-old daughter loves walking and balancing on logs in the park, and this wooden balance beam lets her do essentially the same thing indoors. Strategist senior editor Simone Kitchens bought one for her own 2-year-old and likes that it’s “a fun physical activity that we can do at home, and it’s pretty unobtrusive so you can easily push it away to the side” (or under a couch or bed). The set comes with four slim flat planks and five connectors made from sustainably sourced birch plywood and New Zealand pine; you can set them up as one long straight line or a zigzag beam or even stack them as a road for toy cars.
Playable LEGO arcade game
Though LEGO sets are pretty much always worth it, Jessie Hartman, owner of Brooklyn Click and Connect, an after-school program focusing on LEGO play, recommends this Pac-Man Arcade in particular as a splurge you won’t regret, in part because it has multigenerational appeal. “It’s a big kit that’s expensive and involved, but it’s fun to do as a family and the payoff is really good,” she says, adding that it comes with knobs and controls that make the ghosts and Pac-Man move around on little tracks: Turning a crank on the side of the console makes the tiny plastic Pac-Man run away from little ghosts just like in the real game (but without any digitization), and a button on top makes the ghosts and Pac-Man swivel and switch places. It also has a coin slot brick that lights up and a miniature arcade scene to build that you can stash in the back of the big console as an Easter egg.
Not too enormous trampoline
Calavan bought this hexagonal trampoline for her backyard and has been impressed by how sturdy it is despite its smallish size: The trampoline is seven feet wide and 33 inches off the ground with a net on all sides for safe jumping. Calavan says it has been perfect for her 5-year-old son and his friends because it can hold several kids at once and sey can hoist themselves up with the help of a step stool. The stated weight limit is 100 pounds, but she suggested it can hold a bit more than that: “My mom is one of those people who jumps on a rebounder all the time, and when she came to visit, she did her morning exercise on this trampoline, so it definitely holds up.”
Anything Magna-Tiles
Dozens of companies make magnetic building tiles, but Magna-Tiles for the most part has them all beat. Beyond the safety and durability standards Magna-Tiles upholds, there’s a wonderful variety of design options, from the new MicroMags to patterned tiles, figures, and vehicles that come with different themed sets — including Arctic animals, dinosaurs, a royal castle, a space shuttle, and a construction site.
Unanimously beloved scooter
Nearly every parent, kid, and expert I talked to about scooters agrees that Micro Kickboard makes the best. They are lightweight and sturdy, glide smoothly across different types of terrain, and are simple to steer, even for beginners. The brand makes three- and two-wheeled scooters in a range of sizes that cater to kids as young as 1 and as old as teens and adults. The handlebars are a cinch to adjust without tools, which helps a scooter grow with your child and then shrink back down when you’re ready to hand it over to a younger sibling. With a minimum weight limit of 110 pounds, the brand’s designs are very size inclusive and sturdy. And there are all sorts of upgrade variations depending on the features that are important to you, from foldability to light-up wheels.
Strategist writer Lauren Ro bought the Mini Deluxe in ice blue when her older son was 3 years old. Now that he’s in kindergarten, he has graduated to the Maxi Deluxe, leaving his old Mini to his 2-year-old younger brother. Ro says the scooters have remained in heavy rotation for months on end. Each scooter has a two-year manufacturer’s warranty, and all of its parts are replaceable, making it basically indestructible (and giving it resale value). The brand even sells add-ons like bells, lights, a seat for stuffed animals, and handlebar streamers.
Off-road balance bike
According to Natalie Martins, owner of the kids’-bike review site Two Wheeling Tots, almost all balance bikes are designed for use in the city and on paved surfaces — but the Dirt Hero balance bike from Kids Ride Shotgun has some nifty off-road features that let kids ride it on rougher terrain. Martins and other cycling experts I’ve talked to all mentioned it as the as the first bike they would check out for high-energy kids because no matter the surface they’re riding on, “it’s exceptionally well built,” with cushy, extra-grippy tires and a powerful brake that’s easy for small hands to use. “Plus it looks like a mini mountain bike,” Martins adds. The frame can accommodate either 12-inch tires, for kids between 2 and 4 years old, or 14-inch tires, for kids from 3 to 5. It also comes with three colorful frame skins so kids can customize their ride.
Extremely well built first pedal bike
Woom bikes are recommended to us all the time; they’re famous for their minimalist (yet sturdy) aluminum frames and high-quality components. According to Bike Whisperer NYC instructor Andree Sanders, a higher-end, well-balanced bike can make it easier and more fun for kids to learn to ride, so they will get more out of it in the end. Woom makes a dedicated balance bike, but for preschoolers who are learning to pedal for the first time, the 14-inch Woom 2 is a better investment — though it ships with pedals installed, you can easily remove them so it can be ridden as a balance bike to start. It also has an easy-to-use hand brake and a covered chain. For larger or older kids, the brand offers a 16-inch bike, the Woom 3, for those starting at 4 years old. There are also Woom mountain bikes, Woom electric bikes, and Woom bikes designed for city commutes all for kids between the ages of 6 and 14.
Open-concept dollhouse on wheels
KidKraft is known for its sturdy outdoor swing sets, play kitchens, and elaborately detailed large-scale dollhouses. Of everything they make, I am most impressed by this open-concept mid-century-style dollhouse that swivels on wheels like a sunglasses display at a gas station. I first came across it, and waited my turn to get my hands on it, while visiting the brand’s booth at a recent toy fair. Because it has no outer walls, multiple children can gather around it to play simultaneously — great for collaborative pretend play as well as for calming sibling, friend, and cousin squabbles. It has three floors, ten rooms, and two clip-on staircases kids can move around as needed. I love that it’s neutral — not a Barbie Dreamhouse, L.O.L. Surprise Mansion, or Gabby’s Dollhouse — but the rooms and furnishings are big enough to accommodate dolls up to 12 inches tall from any of those brands. And it comes fully loaded with 42 pieces of furniture and accessories including bunk beds, a washer and dryer, a dog, plants, area rugs, and even a telescope.
Life-size Magna-Tiles
Trolio and her daughters love playing with Super Space magnetic building panels, which are basically life-size Magna-Tiles that let kids easily build houses, cars, puppet theaters and backdrops, and other structures. In addition to their being just plain cool, she loves that they’re super-compact when disassembled and stacked — and thus very easy to store in a corner or under a couch. Strategist contributor Youngna Kim is also a fan and recently added them to her guide to open-ended building toys, noting that you can buy add-ons like chalkboards and whiteboards so kids can turn a building into a school, a shop, or anything else they can dream up.
Realtree camo ride-on
Peg Perego’s RZR 900 ride-on vehicle has all the features adults look for in an off-road vehicle, shrunken down for kids ages 2 to 8 years old. Its rugged wheels have extra traction for driving on grass, dirt, gravel, or pavement. It has automatic brakes, a two-speed gear shifter, and a cargo area with tie-downs for hauling whatever your young off-roaders are into hauling. It has a max speed of five miles per hour, but there’s a parent lock so adults can make sure new drivers take it slow. Adjustable bucket seats accommodate kids of different ages, and a high weight limit of 130 pounds (the weight of an average 12-year-old) ensures kids can keep using it for several years.
The Strategist is designed to surface useful, expert recommendations for things to buy across the vast e-commerce landscape. Every product is independently selected by our team of editors, whom you can read about here. We update links when possible, but note that deals can expire and all prices are subject to change.
